Welcome to LALos Angeles is a city carved out of the desert – a conjured image of paradise. These are the stories of people who learn what lies beyond the dream – yacht parties with theremin makers that end on the rocks, low-budget filmmaking that blurs the line between truth and fiction, movie stars and Hollywood hopefuls whose stories seem too crazy to be true. Welcome to Los Angeles.

Lost NotesThe greatest music stories never told. Explore the amazing stories of how 60s rock hit “Louie, Louie” triggered an FBI investigation, the outlaw Brooklyn radio station WBAD that tracked the rise of 90s hip hop, and the man who went from Folsom Prison inmate to Johnny Cash’s bandmate.

To the PointA weekly reality-check on the issues Americans care about most. Host Warren Olney draws on his decades of experience to explore the people and issues shaping – and disrupting - our world. How did everything change so fast? Where are we headed? The conversations are informal, edgy and always informative. If Warren's asking, you want to know the answer.

Thought-Controlled Computing

A tour of the ways we will soon control computers with our minds, and how this “brain-computer interface” will change society. My guest is Ariel Garten, CEO of the Toronto-based company Interaxon, which is developing such devices.

FROM THIS EPISODE

I was in Toronto in my consulting life the other day when an article in the Canadian press caught my eye. It was about a company that was doing something called “thought-controlled computing.”

I had no idea what this meant but it sounded cool and important. So, I Googled the CEO and co-founder – a woman named Ariel Garten – and it turns out she’s not only a neuroscientist and an entrepreneur, but a fashion designer and a practicing psychotherapist. She’s also just 33 years old.

My first thought was, “Wow, this is (well, you know)" - that shiver of curiosity that invariably leads to a podcast. My second thought was that maybe Ariel Garten was really a computer simulation since it all seemed a bit much. Anyway, I got in touch, saw her office demo-ed her products, chatted with her over dinner, and just knew you would want to meet her, too.

Apart from her accomplishments and the cutting edge technology she and her team are developing, what fascinates me about Garten is the way she proves that artistic and scientific sensibilities can truly be integrated. I also admire the skepticism this tech entrepreneur has about our modern fetish for technology. Toss in the fact that she says our playlists will one day sense when we’re depressed and suggest songs that would make us happy, and you have the makings for what I hope you'll agree is an interesting conversation.